Camper stove with disposable brazier



Oct. 29, 1968 M. J. CERVENAK 3,407,803

CAMPER STOVE WITH DISPOSABLE BRAZIER Filed Feb. 16, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. MICHAEL J CERVENAK mwzaz m ATTORNEY Oct. 29, 1968 M. J. CERVENAK CAMPER STOVE WITH DISPOSABLE BRAZIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16, 1967 FIG FIG

FIG.

INVENTOR. 7 MICHAEL J. CERVENAK ATTORNEY United States Patent Olhce 3,407,803 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 3,407,803 CAMPER STOVE WITH DISPOSABLE BRAZIER Michael J. Cervenak, 7727 Dunbarton Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90045 Filed Feb. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 616,604 '1 Claims. (01. 126-25) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A camper stove having a relatively lightweight, removable and disposable brazier comprised of a thermal material having improved heat reflecting and radiating characteristics.

Background of the invention (1) Field of the invention-The invention relates to camper stoves having disposable braziers comprised of improved thermal materials.

(2) Description 0 prior art.--Camper stoves, in one embodiment, comprise a metal brazier or heat enclosing container supported by metal legs. Ordinarily, a liner material such as sand piled randomly inside the brazier, or sheets of aluminum foil are used to support the fuel unit. Charcoal briquets are commonly used as fuel units.

The liner materials reflect the heat outward and provide an insulating layer between the heat unit and the brazier surfaces. Without the liner, the enclosure surfaces could suffer damage from overheating.

However, after a container or enclosure such as a brazier has been used, the liner materials should be replaced by clean materials. Liner materials may be wasted because no controls are available for regulating the amounts replacing the used materials, and the removal of the used materials is laborious.

In addition, a metal brazier with legs is relatively heavy and diflicult to store and transport. Maintenance and upkeep must also be taken into consideration as a dilficulty associated with metal braziers. The brazier should be of unitary construction and have heat radiating and reflecting characteristics so that the same or improved heat producing capabilities are achieved with a minimum use of materials. If thematerials used in producing the brazier are relatively light, the overall weight will be reduced and the brazier can be more easily stored and transported. If the brazier is removable and inexpensive enough to discard after a certain number of uses, maintenance, upkeep and cleaning problems associated with the brazier would be minimized.

Summary of the invention The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and provides a disposable brazier made of lightweight thermal material. The brazier is comprised of a thermal material having at least one heat reflective layer and a supporting layer which is thermally compatible with the reflecting layer, as Well as any additional layer. The supporting layer is secured to the base material reflective layer for supporting the heating units and for maintaining a heated substrate under said units. The brazier may include support means for maintaining the brazier at a particular height and attitude. The brazier may be detached from the support means so that it may be discarded after a number of uses.

In other embodiments, the support means may comprise relatively stifl heat resistant carboard legs which fold under the brazier when not in use.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an easily removable and disposable brazier composed of a thermal material having reflective and insulating characteristics and a base material, thermally compatible with the other layers, for supporting heat generating units.

It is another object of this invention to provide an article of unitary construction with improved heat reflective and insulating characteristics for use with heat producing enclosures which minimize material waste used in providing the improved characteristics.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitarily constructed brazier for improving heat generation which is easily removed from its supports and discarded.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a brazier which may be discarded after a number of uses and the process for using said brazier for improving heat generation with a minimum of material waste and with a relatively cleaner heat generating environment.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent in connection with the following drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1a is a cross-seetional view of one embodiment of a combination of materials comprising the thermal material brazier,

FIGURE lb is a perspective view of a layer of thermal material usable in the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a top view of one embodiment of a brazier showing handles,

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view of one handle which can be used with the brazier,

FIGURE 4 is a detailed view of the openings provided in one embodiment of the article adapted for use as a liner for certain heating enclosures,

FIGURE 5 is a top view of the left side of a brazier including means for forming the article into a cylindrical configuration,

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the right side of a brazier including means for forming the article into a cylindrical configuration,

FIGURE 7 is a side view of a further embodiment of a brazier including support means,

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of hook means for joining the support means and the brazier,

FIGURE 9 is a view of dimantled support means usable with the FIGURE 7 embodiment,

FIGURE 10 is a view of a Teflon coated grill usable with the FIGURE 7 embodiment, 10FIQBURE. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the FIGURE grl FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of means for joining portions of the FIGURE 5 configuration.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to FIGURE 1b, wherein is shown a portion of brazier 1 comprising reflective layer 2, such as aluminum foil, to which is bonded supporting base layer 3 comprising sand. If desired, the layers 2 and 3 may be bonded to an insulating layer 5 comprising an asbestos material. Even though one layer of aluminum foil is shown as comprising the reflective layer, it should be obvious that more than one layer could be used as the reflect-ive layer, or that the layer thickness could be varied.

Thermal materials are especially noted for their thermal related properties of reflectivity, radiativity, conductivity, and absorption. The thermal material of the present invention reflects heat and absorbs and radiates heat, the reflecting function being continuous as heat is directed toward the material, while the absorption function is temporary to permit dissipation (radiation) in the same direction as the reflection.

The thermal material of the present invention is suited for short term use, and is intended to be disposable rather than permanent as is characteristic of certain thermal materials of the prior art.

The basis components of the present thermal material include a heat reflective layer base material, an adhesive which when cured bonds to the base material without deterioration of the heat reflective characteristics, and a layer of rock composition material distributed on the adhesive to form a surface layer of heat retentive properties. This rock composition material is basically silicate and as is well known, carbons, Carborundum, quartz and other minerals. Particles of the rock material are immersed within the adhesive partially or totally and when cured are bonded to the adjacent particles as well as to the base material. The most economical and plentiful material suitable for use is ordinary sand, which is basically of silicate composition. After curing by applying heat to the adhesive and rock particle layer mixture, the thermal material is suited for short duration use as a liner for such devices as charcoal braziers, stoves or fireplaces in the home.

In FIGURE la, layer 3 forms the heat absorption layer. Each particle of sand is bonded to reflective layer 2 by curing adhesive and in addition each particle is bonded to the adjacent particles by the curing of the adhesive.

The thermal material of the present invention differs from ordinary sandpaper material in both construction and suitability for thermal use. Ordinary sandpaper cannot be interchanged for use with the present thermal material nor can the present thermal material be interchanged with sandpaper. In sandpaper construction it is essential that the particles extend above the adhesive layer and that the particles be sharp and irregular, otherwise the abrasive use would be defeated. However, in the present thermal material the particles need not extend above the surface of the adhesive to perform the function of heat absorption. In addition, sandpaper backing is usually cloth or paper and would break down or burn under the thermal conditions to which the present thermal material may be exposed. And further, the adhesive bond formed by the sand to the backing is essentially permanent to permit the abrasive use, which is not a characteristic of the present invention necessarily. An attempt to use the present thermal material as an abrasive would result in breaking the bonding to the base material.

According to one embodiment of the present thermal material and referring again to FIGURE 1b, the reflective layer of base material 2 is composed of foil aluminum. Foil aluminum is readily available with a polished surface in thicknesses ranging from .0007 inch to .006 inch. Household wrapping foil is usually of the .0007 to .001 inch thickness. In the most economical disposable embodiment, the thicknesses corresponding to the household foil k wrap are preferred. Structural strength of the foil increases as the thickness increases, and therefore, preformed shapes are made of the foil having thickness from .001 to .006 inch. So to make a preferred shaped embodiment of the present thermal material, the base material 1 layer should be as mentioned above in thickness.

The process for manufacture of the present thermal material would involve the steps of coacting the polished surface of the foil with a layer of adhesive in liquid form, distributing a layer of rock material in particle form upon the surface of the adhesive, and curing the adhesive layer until a bonding exists between the particles of rock and the foil layer. Where the constituents of the thermal material are aluminum foil, a solution of sodium silicate adhesive, and sand, then the curing is best performed by exposing the adhesive to heat until the water is evaporated and the silicate crystallizes to form bonding among the sand particles and to the aluminum foil. Curing temperatures between 150 F. and 350 F. are satisfactory. Higher curing temperatures could result in highly brittl layers of sand, depending upon the time duration of the curing process.

The foil aluminum is first coated with a thin layer of a water solution of sodium silicate, commonly referred to as water glass, then the particles of sand are evenly distributed upon the coated surface until the surface is completely covered by at least a single layer of sand particles. By gravitational force or pressure the sand settles into the liquid until the silicate surrounds the particles. After the sand particles settle into the silicate liquid, heat is applied to the silicate and sand layer to evaporate the water and form crystalline bonds of sodium silicate between particles of sand and to the layer of foil. If the particles of sand are permitted to protrude above the surface of the liquid adhesive, then the irregular surface forms valleys and grooves. Such valleys and grooves are suited for air circulation when the thermal material is embodied in a charcoal brazier or other stove. Pronounced grooves could also be formed by pre-distortion of the base material in a form similar to that of a washboard, and would assist in venting the fuel units deposited on the thermal material to permit sure and quick ignitron.

It is understood that within the teachings of the present invention of thermal material, that other heat retentive particular materials could be bonded to the heat reflective base material other than sand. However, because of its abundance sand is preferred as well as being economical. Also, aluminum foil is inexpensive and has the heat reflectivity characteristic essential to the operation of the present thermal material thereby placing aluminum foil as the primary preference to other foils such as copper, silver, tin and gold. Aluminum foil is also flexible and does not decompose under heat permitting forming shapes and suitability for the thermal use of the thermal material of the present invention.

Although bonding by means of an adhesive is given as an example, it should be obvious that the layers could be joined by stapling or other means.

By using only so much sand as is secured to the foil layer by the adhesive, unnecessary waste of materials is minimized.

Referring now to FIGURE 1b, wherein is shown a perspective view of the thermal layer. Layer 3 comprises sand particles. Adhesive 2 secures the sand to the base 5.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, wherein is shown a top view of brazier 1, including handles 6 and 6 which are attached to the side of the brazier by fastening means such as a metal snap fastener. In other embodiments, the handles could be glued or stapled to the brazier.

For the particular embodiment shown, perforations 7 are made in the thermal material so that the brazier can be shaped to a particular configuration such as a circular configuration. The perforations also permit the edge to be turned up to form sides. The perforations need not extend completely through the thermal material, but may be grooves or impressions to facilitate folding.

For the brazier shown in FIGURE 2, the foil thickness in the thermal material should be structurally compatible to hold the shape shown. If the diameter of the brazier is, for example, 10 inches, the thickness of the foil should be between .0015 and .006 inch, depending upon rigidity required for the embodiment.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, wherein is shown a more detailed view of handle 6. The handle may comprise metal ring 9, snap fastener 11 and wire 10, interconnecting the two. The fastener engages its mated counterpart which is connected to the side of the article.

It should be pointed out that the brazier could be modified and used as a liner with existing metal braziers. In order to make the brazier compatible with existing circular enclosures, however, an opening must be provided in the center for mating with the elevating center post of such enclosure which is used to elevate a grill.

One embodiment of an opening for sealing the engagement of the post with the brazier is shown in FIGURE 4. Opening 8 comprises spring metal tips 13 situated about the circumference of the opening which is secured to the bottom surface 12 of the article. As the post (not shown) slides through the opening, the metal tips engage the post circumference and permit guiding of the post within the opening. As a result, heat loss and loss of cooking materials are minimized. When the liner is re moved, the spring metal snaps back covering the hole and prevents loss of materials.

Other embodiments within the knowledge of those skilled in the art could also be used to secure the open- Referring now to FIGURE 5, wherein is shown a half cylinder shaped embodiment of the brazier. The other half is similarly constructed. T he brazier comprises center portion 14 including perforations 15 along its longitudinal axis for permitting the center portion to be formed into a half cylinder. End portion 16 joins with the center portion to complete the brazier. Handle 17 is attached to the end portion for lifting purposes.

The end portion may be secured to the center portion by a plurality of means. For example, adhesive strip 20, as shown in FIGURE 6, may be disposed along the edge of the center portion for engaging a similarly disposed adhesive strip (not shown) on the outer edge of the end portion. A bond between the two portions results when the adhesive strips are pressed together.

As shown in FIGURE 12, when assembled, end portion 16 including protruding members 21 mate with receptacle member 22 for forming an assembled brazier having a cylindrical configuration.

FIGURE 5 further comprises protruding members 21 secured to end portion 16. Receptacle members 22 are secured to portion 1:; for mating with protrusions. A plurality of such engagement means are disposed about the circumference of the end and center portions to effect a complete engagement between the two portions.

FIGURE 6 comprises end portions 16', handle portion 17', and center portion 14.

FIGURE 7 illustrates a preferred embodiment comprising brazier 25, including leg means 26. Clip means 27 comprising hook means 23 are pivotally connected to the base. Loop means 29, also part of the clip means, are connected to the bottom surface of the brazier. The combination permits the brazier to be detached from the leg means. As a result, the leg or support means may be of the shape of a ring supported by legs to permit placing (a) of either a pre-shaped brazier therein, or (b) merely attaching a sufficiently wide sheet of thermal material across the ring and folding the ends secured to the ring (like a fish net). Also, a brazier could be detached from the leg means and used separately.

As shown in FIGURE 9, leg means 26 may be stamped from a lightweight metal such as aluminum and provided with snap fasteners 3ft along the edge thereof. Hook means 28 are joined to the top edge of the leg means. When the snaps are engaged the flat sheet forms a conical configuration with the top portion removed to permit the brazier to be fit on top of the cone.

A more detailed view of the clip means is shown in FIGURE 8. The hook means, including a pivoting member 31, is attached to the leg means. Loop 34 is connected to the bottom surface 35 of the brazier. The hook means includes a protruding member 32 which inserts into loop 34 to secure the brazier to the leg means. Adhesive or other connecting means may be used to secure the various portions of the fastener to the surfaces involved.

Other hooks or fasteners well known to those skilled in the art may be used to accomplish fastening of the brazier and leg means.

Referring now to FIGURE 10, wherein is shown a Teflon coated grill 36 which may be equipped with clamp means 38 (see FIGURE 11) on the outer ring 37 of the grill for engaging the edge of brazier 25 as shown in FIGURE 7.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only, and is not to be taken by way of limiation; the spirit and scope of this invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A disposable brazier comprised of a thermal material and including leg means, said brazier comprising,

heat reflecting layer means, including perforations for permitting said layer to be shaped into various configurations, said layer having portions forming side members and a bottom member,

silicone material secured to the bottom member of the reflecting layer for supporting heat generating units and for maintaining a heated substrate under said units,

leg means connected to the underside of said heat reflecting layer for supporting said brazier.

2. A disposable brazier comprised of a thermal material and including leg means, said brazier comprising,

heat reflecting layer means, including perforations for permitting said layer to be shaped into various configurations, said layer having portions forming side members and a bottom member,

silicone material secured to the bottom member of the reflecting layer for supporting heat generating units and for maintaining a heated substrate under said units,

leg means connected to the underside of said heat reflecting layer for supporting said brazier,

said heat reflecting layer means comprises aluminum foil, insulating layer means being joined to the underside of said reflecting layer between said leg means and said layer for providing additional heat insulation to said brazier and for providing additional support for said heat generating units, and

said aluminum foil, silicone material, and insulating layer means being joined together by means of a non-toxic adhesive.

3. The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said leg means and brazier means includes means for detachably securing said leg means to said brazier means, and

a Teflon grill including means for connecting said grill to said brazier.

4. The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said brazier has a half cylinder shaped center portion, with said first and second end portions connected to the ends of said center portion and handle means secured to each of said end portions.

5. The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said brazier further includes an asbestos layer bonded to said heat reflecting layer between said layer and said brazier.

6. The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said silicone material is sodium silicate.

7. The brazier as recited in claim 1, produced by the steps comprising,

coating a polished surface of a layer of aluminum foil with a water solution of sodium silicate,

depositing a layer of silicate particles upon said coating of sodium silicate to form a uniform particular layer, and

curing said particular layer by applying heat for evaporating the water from said solution for bonding said silicate particles to adjacent silicate particles and to said aluminum foil.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,868,189 1/1959 Watrous 126-25 2,918,051 12/1959 Broman 1269 2,967,023 1/1961 Huckabee 126-25 3,035,566 5/1962 Keeney 126-25 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, IR., Primary Examiner.

E. G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner. 

